Dear Southern Caleefornya

[Okla-homey]

every year we watch in shock and horror as wildfires burn significant chunks of your landscape and residential areas to a crackly crunch.

Here's a tip. They have these things called bulldozers. You can employ people to operate said bulldozers to clear vegetation in broad belts we call "firebreaks" around your residential areas.

Quarter-mile wide strips oughtta do it. Trees, bushes and scrub undergrowth in the areas upwind of your homes are your enemies. They should be elimininated from your hillsides before the next annual round of fires.

You're welcome.

Sincerely,

A Taxpayer

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AD1DM20081115?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

[OUHOMER]

No ****. its amazing to me they don't do something. But I guess, that would be
1) altering the environment.
2) Its the governments job to clear the brush

[Rogue]

Quarter-mile wide strips?

[Okla-homey]

Quarter-mile wide strips?

yes. amid 70mph winds, I should think that width would be required.

[Jerk]

Here is a thread about a guy out there who illegally cleared the brush and illegally planted fire-resistant vegetation to stop the legal fire from legally burning down his house:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=788828

[Lott's Bandana]

Homey, I used to feel the same way when I first moved to Cali. After a while, I realized it is futile to combat what these fires become.

It doesn't rain each year from April to Thanksgiving. The hillsides have foxtail grass and manzanita bushes growing everywhere, with oaks and pine trees in the foothills. There is just too much of it.

Many of the neighborhoods affected are not the rich folks with their vacation homes...a great deal are retired people that moved to the foothills to be able to afford retirement, working class people that do the service work in the area, etc.

The California Division of Forestry (CDF) recommends a buffer zone of about 150 feet around any structures built in the fire zones. This is impractical for many people as the richness and diversity of the indigenous (and yes, protected) plantlife there would require a significant investment for each homeowner.

Insurance companies have stepped in and if you want insurance for your vacation home at a reasonable price, you'd better have that firebreak, and concrete shakes on your roof, etc. Even then, the sheer magnitude of the firestorms often overwhelm the best prepared dwellings.

Compare it to tornados. FEMA recommends shelter designs that withstand wind and missile impact of 250mph. We know what good that does in Moore. You can only do so much.

As far as taxpaying? CDF is a California military-like department with their own air force, airbases and thousands of personnel. It is funded by California taxpayers, obviously with some grant funding from the Feds. Also, the BLM land, which is abundant in CA, also has their own fire fighting teams, obviously Federal. FEMA money, after a big firestorm, obviously comes from the Fed. Still, I think the biggest impact of these disasters pale in significance to a Katrina...another unstoppable force of nature.

You are absolutely right. A bulldozer would do some good....and does. It simply would be like requiring everyone in Oklahoma have a storm shelter...can't reasonably be done.

[bluedogok]

I still don't understand why the residential construction industry still focuses on building with wood so much, well I understand part of it, the cost. It's cheaper to build with wood because the material is somewhat cheaper but the labor costs are significantly cheaper. Still, you would think in an area that is threatened yearly by wildfires more people would demand more fire resistant construction. Maybe it's just that i work in commercial architecture and so little of what I do deals with wood framing that I have a focus on it.

We have been looking for land out in the Hill Country where the vegetation can get very dry and fire hydrants can be few and far between. We have been in a drought condition since about October of last year and so fire resistant construction and preventative measures are fairly high on my use of materials. Seems like more of it should be used out there.

[Lott's Bandana]

There is a new product on the market now that is proving very effective in this situation. It is a type of foam/coating that can be sprayed on a roof and structure of a building in imminent danger of a fire. I wish I could remember the name...it is a three-letter acronym.

Anyway, the latest I heard was that it was being considered by the insurance industry as a premium discount, if you have the spray system for your house. Relatively inexpensive, considering the benefit, the last I heard was the company that hold's proprietary rights cannot make enough of the stuff. I spoke to a rep on a plane flight and he said they are looking at licensing it out to other manufacturers and also the CA version of the EPA was still studying the environmental impact of the product.

[Okla-homey]

I still don't understand why the residential construction industry still focuses on building with wood so much...

Follow the money. Georgia Pacific, Weyerhauser and the Rest of "Big Wood";) no doubt spend a lot of money greasing state and local politicians to keep things the way they are.

[Lott's Bandana]

He said, "Big Wood".


:P

[soonerhubs]

Prayers sent to the folks who are suffering out there.

[LosAngelesSooner]

Prayers sent to the folks who are suffering out there.Classy. Thank you.

[RacerX]

http://mail2.someecards.com/filestorage/sea_12.jpg

[TheHumanAlphabet]

There is a new product on the market now that is proving very effective in this situation. It is a type of foam/coating that can be sprayed on a roof and structure of a building in imminent danger of a fire. I wish I could remember the name...it is a three-letter acronym.

Anyway, the latest I heard was that it was being considered by the insurance industry as a premium discount, if you have the spray system for your house. Relatively inexpensive, considering the benefit, the last I heard was the company that hold's proprietary rights cannot make enough of the stuff. I spoke to a rep on a plane flight and he said they are looking at licensing it out to other manufacturers and also the CA version of the EPA was still studying the environmental impact of the product.

Are you thinking of char-tec? we use it on offshore platforms. Which is not the foam you speak of, but an insulation that we use. when heated it expands and blisters, preventing/reducing fire damage.

[Lott's Bandana]

Are you thinking of char-tec? we use it on offshore platforms. Which is not the foam you speak of, but an insulation that we use. when heated it expands and blisters, preventing/reducing fire damage.

No ABC,

This stuff is like PKP, but it adheres to the structure and protects it. I have no idea how it is supposed to come off either.

I need to spend some time googling it to get the name.

Edit: Similar product, article published today: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=3763676&page=1

[RFH Shakes]

every year we watch in shock and horror as wildfires burn significant chunks of your landscape and residential areas to a crackly crunch.

Here's a tip. They have these things called bulldozers. You can employ people to operate said bulldozers to clear vegetation in broad belts we call "firebreaks" around your residential areas.

Quarter-mile wide strips oughtta do it. Trees, bushes and scrub undergrowth in the areas upwind of your homes are your enemies. They should be elimininated from your hillsides before the next annual round of fires.

You're welcome.

Sincerely,

A Taxpayer

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AD1DM20081115?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews


We would appreciate that very much.

Sincerely,

Mudslides :D;)

[Okla-homey]

We would appreciate that very much.

Sincerely,

Mudslides :D;)

One word: kudzu.

[Lott's Bandana]

One word: kudzu.

That's funny.

Kudzu and Fire Ants...gotta love the South.

I've seen kudzu completely covering a high-voltage power-line tower!

[Okla-homey]

That's funny.

Kudzu and Fire Ants...gotta love the South.

I've seen kudzu completely covering a high-voltage power-line tower!

And it nips mudslides in the mother-flippin' bud bro. Drought resistant too. In fact, you can't kill it without gasoline and a match. It eats Round-Up for breakfast and asks for more at lunch.

But I wouldn't expect the californios to go for it. They'll continue to crisp but their hillsides will be kudzu-free. dumarses.

[SoonerInKCMO]

Isn't it kind of dry for kudzu in L.A.?

[TheHumanAlphabet]

One word: kudzu.

To quote a bad joke that my Soil Conservationist Dad told be back in the day when there was no PC crap... "the chinese replied to an American as he said what he would do with the jkudzu - "You'rr by solly!"

The thing about kudzu - is it don't belong here... Another gubment "good idea"...

[Lott's Bandana]

But I wouldn't expect the californios to go for it. They'll continue to crisp but their hillsides will be kudzu-free. dumarses.

Yeah. Try to sneak an apple or orange across the border....